Our D27 was academically flying high, she started some high school courses in grade 7 and some Dual Enrollment in grade 9, and by the end of grade 9 had 80% of high school requirements done, and half an Associates through DE, and had straight A’s, so UWGPA 4.0. She also took 4 AP exams (no AP courses - learnt from DE) scoring 5554. She got ACT 36 at the end of middle school, and had various good academic Extra-Curriculars on top of that. There was not so much non-academic ECs, but still she looked on track to be competitive for some good colleges, especially some “meets full needs” ones, which are needed for affordability.
For grade 10 she switched to a more rigorous school (selective public) with higher work output expected, and strict deadlines, and it was a disaster with (semester) grades
AAAAAAAABBCCCDD
(AAAAAAABC in STEM and ABCCDD in non-STEM, and she would definitely be a STEM major in college)
so UWGPA 3.07 for grade 10, and about UWGPA 3.8 overall, but the GPA is not so much the problem as specifically the 3 C’s and 2 D’s (and the grades are what they are - no excuse will be made for them). On paper, entering grade 10, she was probably the academically strongest student in the grade, but she absolutely did not handle the workload/schedule, so here we are.
I would ask the forum experts to be quite blunt about what options (colleges/scholarships) are outright eliminated by these 3 C’s and 2 D’s.
This would help with both academic and financial planning, and with just coming to terms with how things stand now.
I will break this into several smaller posts.
Safety: The good(ish) news is that D27 can simply go to the T200 NearbyStateU, with a large pile of college credit, mostly from DE (that other colleges won’t necessarily accept), and with lowish sticker price, and some merit and need aid, and living at home, it is virtually free. She is in grade 11 now, and back at her previous school taking DE courses, (all Humanities, since there is no more STEM for her there) which will cover the last couple of high school requirements, and complete the Associates degree (60 hours of DE), and be totally done with all her Humanities requirements at NearbyStateU. She could then start at NearbyStateU a year early, but we prefer she officially continues as a 12th grader, while taking all college courses (now all STEM) on the campus (since there would be nothing left for her at the high school). The latter is preferable, as she could then apply for other colleges, at the normal age, as an entering 1st year in Fall 2027, and not as a transfer. So this one safety option is firmly in place, and D27 has accepted that this is a likely outcome.
Note that the DE in grade 9-11 is not taken on-campus, and is granted by a different T500 NotSoNearStateU, and counts at in-state publics, but probably won’t be accepted much OOS. And the DE’s are straight A’s so far, so the college transcript is straight A’s, but the high school transcript includes the dreaded BBCCCDD!
Affordability, and Meets Full Needs (MFN) colleges: We want colleges that are affordable for us, and an academic fit (not too high or low), and after looking at dozens of Net Price Calculators, I concluded that for us these are basically the “meets full needs” colleges, about 30 Unis and 20 LACs, all quite/very/extremely selective. The only two public ones are UVa and UNC, and the least reachy privates are for example Case, URochester, Wake, Tulane.
So, forum experts, in all candor, how does it look for D27 with her 3 C’s and 2 D’s? Realistically, is she simply outright eliminated from contention at these “meets full needs” (MFN) colleges?
Our S24, with almost straight A’s at rigorous selective public school, and very strong academic ECs, though lacking in non-academic ECs so not full holistic package, did get into some “meets full needs” colleges (and had many rejections too), and is now attending one, with substantial financial aid that makes it affordable for us, so we saw this process, and saw that it can work out. It had seemed that D27, could do similar, until the grade 10 disaster, so now we’re re-assessing, and I ask the forum’s input.
Questbridge: This is a variation of the above. We’d qualify incomewise, but not sure if it’s really our profile, and S24 didn’t do QB (nor ED). D27 was considering this option. But I understand that this is just as competitive as any other application channel, so, forum experts, in all candor again, how does it look for D27 with her 3 C’s and 2 D’s? Is she knocked out of contention for progressing through the QB process?
NMSF/NMF: D27 just took PSAT/NMSQT (in grade 11 now, so it counts), and when she took it in grade 9 and 10 she got scores that would qualify everywhere, so will likely get NMSF. And she has a confirming SAT score taken in grade 10, since the ACT 36 was too early for that. But, again, candid forum experts, will her 3 C’s and 2 D’s make her one of the rare NMSF that doesn’t make NMF? NMF could add several more affordable colleges to the list, though these are probably academic peers to our NearbyStateU, but it would give more options. But is she knocked out of contention for NMF?
These types of colleges, MFN, NMF, and NearbyStateU, are the only ones that make sense both academically and financially, there are no others.
And while D27 can just apply to some and see what happens, it would be very helpful to understand her prospects much earlier than that, for various planning reasons, hence the purpose of this thread.
The plan is that she will take on-campus regular college courses in 2026-7 at NearbyStateU (which unlike the previous DE, could be recognized by other colleges if she gets in one). But the big question is, should she officially start college a year early, or should she officially be a 12th grader. This decision is heavily affected by her chances of admission elsewhere (for Fall 2027).
NearbyStateU will give credit for her previous DE, but OOS colleges probably won’t, so maybe she should take some AP exams in those subjects to get college credit elsewhere. But those AP exams are pointless if she’ll just end up staying at NearbyStateU.
Also NearbyStateU is FAFSA-only (probably the NMF schools too), so we get auto-full Pell, and assets aren’t even considered. But the MFN schools all use CSS so the planning is more complex.
So, forum experts, what are D27’s prospects with these 3 C’s and 2 D’s?
If NMSF, can go Tulsa for free room and tuition. If NMF and 3.5, Alabama for 5 years tuition, 4 years room and and $4k merit a year. Other options open too - free tuition at some. I am not sure if the 3.5 is weighted or unweighted. If not NMF, it’d be mid 20s.
You should contact them.
Are you eliminated - no?
Might too many credit hurt - they won’t take all or will meets need take you ? Maybe. Maybe not. And some are need aware meaning they will take need into admission consideration.
Does the student have 4 years in the D subject outside the D ? What’s the highest level of math and how many science ?
What’s the overall UW GPA in hs, on the transcript?
If she recovered after grade 10, hopefully the counselor can note in the LOR she had to learn time management etc at the rigorous school and recovered.
Budget - what is it if no NMF? What can you afford ? Is your income $65k or less ?? You mentioned QB.
I had this thought too until I think I interpreted it that they moved back to their “old school”. I can’t suggest for sure how this will be viewed but as an outsider I would read that narrative as “I was doing really well going to an easy program, transferred into a harder school and couldn’t manage it and transferred back”
In addition to the grades the AO is going to take into consideration the reputation of the school the student is applying from.
Oooh missed that. Too many posts from OP :). Thanks for catching that. . Yeah no counselor note.
Budget will likely drive this - meets need schools likely a tough get even with the top SAT. But NMFs often go where the money is so if they get that, there will be $$ to be had.
The answer to this is maybe. There is no minimum required GPA, but 3.5 seems to be the minimum recommended. As mentioned by another poster, it would be helpful to see her whole transcript. Are the bad grades in core subjects or electives? Those details matter.
Of the schools you listed, including Case, UR, Wake and Tulane, I don’t see your D being accepted with her HS transcript.
I also don’t see Questbridge happening. The average GPA for Questbridge students is a 3.93 with mostly As and maybe the occasional B.
And yes, those Ds can knock her out for NMF.
I’m frankly more concerned if she’s addressed the issue that happened in 10th grade at the more rigorous school? Meeting deadlines and high expectations are going to be the norm in most colleges, regardless of the perceived selectivity. By pulling her out of that school, she didn’t have a chance to adapt and adjust. IMO, that will be a red flag for AOs.
What is your D’s intended major at university? Is it a major that will require a graduate degree? If so, I’d plan on your local state U and knocking it out of the park with grades there so she has more options for grad school. If she isn’t planning on grad school, start at the local state u, knock it out of the park, and then transfer after 2nd year.
My guess here is that for a kid who can score 36 on the ACT in Middle School, some aspects of ANY American HS including the most rigorous one would seem mind-numbing and exasperatingly useless (all the day-to-day hw checks and small tasks that give “little points”), especially if used to and thriving with the college system of “a few tests/psets, some large exams/papers”.
(For instance, UK students would scream at the micro management/snowplowing of everything in US HS.)
If that’s the case even if marginally so (ie., even if it’s self sabotage because didn’t want to stay at new school etc), it’s important for her counselor to note the ACT 36 in MS&that the student’s learning style lent itself well to the college pace but floundered when each task was broken down into small pieces with daily graded hw on things she assumed would be absorbed in under a minute, so Student figured it wasn’t necessary to complete the small tasks as long as she could do the big papers/exams, which she could but missing all the hw grades, hence the C/Ds. Then counselor adds that while Student has learned that painful lesson too late to turn around grades, she is now in a rigorous university environment that both challenges her intellectually while fitting her learning style better.
It wouldn’t excuse the Cs and Ds but would mitigate the situation at least at some QB colleges.
Ok, now, before any college advice, what really happened?
Did she/you choose not to return or was she asked to leave? Why weren’t the Ds corrected (no remediation, extra credit… Offered? Or did she fail some tests and the D is the remediation? Was there any cheating or disciplinary issue?) Was the school boarding and we’re there social adjustments issues?)
Can the Ds be remediated at this point?
I don’t think it’s going to be as dire as some posters upthread but it’s really going to depend on your narrative and how she/you handle this year and next.
She should absolutely NOT graduate this year because she needs time to “repair” her grades by showing what she’s capable of academically so the further away 10th grade grades are, the better.
For instance, she shouldn’t just be taking STEM classes for DE. She needs to have at least 2 DE classes per semester covering Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences. Since she’s already met basic HS graduation requirements as well as college gen eds she can take whatever she finds interesting or will expand her mind in new directions, but she needs to keep that balance. I’d have one “known to be rigorous” class among the 2 (ie., Philosophy, classical literature, advanced Foreign Language/Culture). She can then add proofs of intellectual curiosity&plasticity such as a seminar on graphic novels, European Cinema, Women in Southeast Asia, Cultural Anthropology, Mozart’s world&music, or whatever. This way her transcript will read like that of a very STEM-advanced but balanced HS student, who’d thus be able to step into a rigorous college education continuing her advanced subjects as well as the formation of critical thinking skills, general culture, etc. (<- thinking as an adcom).
Instead of listing AABBCCDD (which in the title made me wonder if it was a CBSE Board result), can you indicate semester 1 and 2 grade per subject
Ie., for instance English B D
English
Math
History
Foreign Language
Science
Other:
Other:
Other:
The main specific concern would be if the D grades mean that, without counting the semesters in which D grades were earned, the student has fewer years or semesters of a subject than required or expected by colleges in general. For example, if the student has only 6 or 7 semesters of English with C or higher grades, while colleges generally want to see 8+.
If it were my kid, ‘the plan’ would be to retake those D’s. I’d forget about an Associates degree – worthless if she plans on attending a 4 year school – and taking additional dual enrollment courses.
Why the rush? With those low grades (Cs and Ds), its appears that she has been going to fast already. What happened in those classes? (sorry, not sure I understand how she struggled in a ‘more rigorous school’ and workload with a 36 ACT). Which classes? Humanities?
agree, this won’t impress admissions at selective schools
And generally grades before 9th are meaningless (DE may be slightly different for some places).. They will mainly will recalculate GPA with only 9-11 grades.
Unfortunately, the more recent grades will matter more, and if at a very rigorous HS, they may look at this and think prior DE classes were super easy? hard to know w/o more info. My kids HS is definitely harder than many college courses..
Agree with all above, need more details, which may or may not be able to be shared and stay confidential.
Yes,would be useful to know the state. In CA, it is always afaik on offer to remediate Ds in a-g subjects as they will generally disqualify the applicant for UCs and CSUs.